The invention relates to an assembly consisting of a tubular housing, which, for example, serves for accommodating a rack, and of at least one retention and/or support ring disposed inside the housing and pressed into the rack housing while the retention and/or support ring expands, and an assembly method therefor. Rack-and-pinion steering mechanisms are used in motor vehicles in order to convert the rotary steering movement applied through the steering wheel into a rectilinear movement for pivoting the vehicle wheels to be steered. In order to assist the steering effort, a servo drive is used which can be disposed at suitable areas within the steering power train.
In the case of the rack-and-pinion steering mechanism, the end of the steering column is connected to a pinion engaging the rack and laterally displacing it when the steering mechanism is rotated. One track rod, respectively, is connected to each of the two ends of the rack via a ball joint. The extremely low wear has provided for widespread use of the rack-and-pinion steering mechanism. Rack-and-pinion steering mechanisms have a good feedback and a very good resilience.
Usually, the rack housing is used for a so-called servo-assisted rack-and-pinion steering mechanism, with the rack housing encompassing the rack in a tubular manner and being divided into a hydraulic area and a mechanical area.
The mechanical area is the area in which the area of the rack moves that is provided with teeth and that is in engagement with a pinion rotating with the steering movement of the steering wheel. The pinion engagement area is thus located within the mechanical area of the rack housing. The hydraulic area is the area into which the rack also extends but in which it normally does not comprise any teeth. Within the hydraulic area the rack is rigidly connected to a slidably mounted piston member, the piston member respectively defining one cylinder chamber in the hydraulic area of the rack housing. When the steering wheel of the vehicle is rotated, a control valve is actuated so that hydraulic oil flows into one of the cylinder chambers, respectively, whereby the piston and thus the rack are displaced in the cylinder. The displacement of the piston caused by the hydraulic oil serves as a force augmentation for the movement of the rack—and thus for the steering movement. To this end, the control valve and the rack housing are interconnected through hydraulic lines, so that, depending on the direction of rotation of the steering wheel, one or the other cylinder chamber is pressurized with oil, or the pressure can be relieved.
A support ring which transmits the hydraulic internal forces into the rack housing and which generally also retains a sealing member, for example an O ring, is usually disposed between the mechanical area and the hydraulic area. At the respective end of the rack housing, a support ring limiting the hydraulic or the mechanical area is furthermore provided, which also serves, for example, as a stop for the longitudinal displacement of the rack due to the ball joint, which is respectively mounted on the end of the rack, striking this support ring.